Dhaka Tourist Spots

If Paris was a pack of Lays then the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, would surely be a pack of Pringles with no room no air. This is a 270 square kilometers city, brimming with around 20 million people in it and counting. Number one population density city of the world. 29,687 people living in per KM and one of most over the populated city of the world. The moment you add to its giant apparatus, you might feel overwhelmed, but once you start moving, the city will embrace with hands wide open.

One of the must-eat items here is the Biriyani.

The best way to travel around the city would in CNGs.

A few years back the city, or Bangladesh for that matter, used to provide its inhabitants with a very pleasant weather throughout the whole year. In summers it was hot and humid but temperature barely crossed 34 Degree Celsius, but in last 2/3 years, the country’s temperature even crossed 42 Degree Celsius multiple times. Keeping that in mind the best time to visit the city would be in the cold and dry winter season, anytime during November to February when the monsoon is over and the winter settles in.

Accommodation

The average cost for a decent hotel in Dhaka is $20, there are five-star hotels costing around $150 per night with world-class service. Where to stay in Dhaka is actually a conundrum. It depends mostly on how much you want to spend on accommodation and how you want to travel. The best place for living in terms of geography would be the Dhanmondi, Uttara area, but it is difficult to find a nice budget hotel around this area, so if you manage to find one it is great otherwise there are plenty of great hotels in Gulshan and Banani area.

Transportation

The city is densely populated with millions of people and you will find most of them around you when you get stuck in the traffic jam. Public transportation is great, and buses are really cheap and always available, but the problem is they are very very crowded and all texts are in Bengali.

The city offer world-class uber and few other services so best way to travel around the city using Uber, Pathao.

CNG three-wheelers that run on natural gas and they have meters so you can enjoy a ride. But it would be difficult to find one that would agree to travel on the meter, but recently the Government made some strict rules and they are bound to travel on meters. The cost would be 12 taka per kilometer and 2 taka per minute for waiting time. Till this date, 1 USD equals 78 taka.

Food

Dhaka is full of restaurants offering all sorts dishes from Chinese to Italian, but in their own Bangladeshi cuisine, there is a very rich signature of ancient Mughal Dynasty. One of the must-eat items here is the Biriyani. You may want to try the Star Kabab chains scattered over the whole city, also there are some other famous Biriyani restaurants called ‘Hazir Biriyani’ or ‘Nanna Biriyani’. There are also different types of kababs widely available you might want to try some of that as well.

If you spend 1000/1200 taka per day (including a plate of Biriyani in the lunch) you can have great meals three times a day. It will be much less if you go for budget meals and also could be much more if you dine fancy. Buffer dinner in Radisson costs 3500 taka.

Tourist spots of Dhaka

Little more than 4 KM away from Dhanmondi area, this is a place with great historical significance, built in 1678 AD by Prince Mohammad Azam. If you ask a CNG driver he will take you there directly. The entrance fee is 200 taka for foreigners. It remains closed on Saturdays.View more

Just a kilometer away from the Lal Bagh Fort is another old beautiful building built in 1644. You can even walk there from Lal Bagh Fort or you can just take a rickshaw, might cost you 20-25 taka. Note that rickshaw itself is a great attraction of Dhaka, and also the roads here are not very pleasant to walk, so don’t miss any chance to ride these colorful traditional three-wheeler vehicles.View more

This is a great place you should not miss. This pink colored palace was built in 1872 by the wealthiest landowner that time, Nawab Abdul Ghani. The palace faced some damage and went through massive restoration in the 80s. If you take the Sadarghat-Gabtoli road, its only 3 KM away from the Lal Bagh Fort.View more

The parliament building in Bangladesh in one of the greatest piece of an architectural monument in the world designed by the great architectural mind Louis I Kahn. It is only little more than a 2 Km away from Dhanmondi. If you ask a rickshaw driver or a CNG driver he will take you right at the place. This is one of the rare less crowded parts of the city.
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About 4 KM away from Dhanmondi is this place where you can get a comprehensive knowledge about the geography and history of the country. Entry fee is 100 Tk for foreigners.
Opening hours are:
9.30am-4pm Sat-Wed
3pm-7.30pm Fri View more